1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for holding and displaying cards such as playing cards.
2. Description of Related Art
In many games there are cards that are collected by a player and then used during the course of the game. It is often required that the player be able to see all of the cards in his possession. In certain games, such as board games, a player may also be required to perform other actions besides simply collecting, holding and using the cards. Thus, it is desirable to provide a playing card holder so that the player's hands are free to perform other actions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,330 discloses a playing card organizer having a planar mat and a plurality of straps for holding cards against the mat. This device is intended to hold the cards for one player and is planar in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,872 discloses a foldable display for computer disks having three connected folding sections. One of the folding sections is used as a cover when the display is in the closed position and is used as a brace between the other two folding sections when the display is in an open position.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,913,137 discloses a game kit that can be set up in the form of an easel to hold and display game pieces. The two panels of the game kit are secured together in an erect position by a fastener.
Other card holding arrangements are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,150,850, 4,346,895 and 5,029,797.
For convenience of storage and transportation, it is preferable that a card holder be very thin when in the closed position. Some of the card holders or game holders known in the art have substantial thickness in the closed position due to the existence of some sort of brace or support used to hold the device in the open position. Additionally, the provision of a brace or other support structure increases the cost to manufacture the device.